LOS ANGELES -- Loved Ragtime , hated Rent is the message delivered by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. The group announced its award nominations in 12 categories, citing Livent (U.S.) Inc.'s Shubert Theatre production of Ragtime nine times but bypassing Rent entirely, despite the fact that the Jonathan Larson musical won numerous major awards in New York in 1996.

LOS ANGELES -- Loved Ragtime , hated Rent is the message delivered by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. The group announced its award nominations in 12 categories, citing Livent (U.S.) Inc.'s Shubert Theatre production of Ragtime nine times but bypassing Rent entirely, despite the fact that the Jonathan Larson musical won numerous major awards in New York in 1996.

The awards ceremony will take place March 16 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with John Raitt as guest of honor. The event is open to the public.

Ragtime was the only show named in the best musical score category.

Other shows nominated in the Best Production category include Arcadia , Mark Taper Forum; Juno and the Paycock , Interact Theatre; Swan Lake , Ahmanson Theatre; Three Days of Rain , South Coast Repertory; The Winter's Tale , A Noise Within.

Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg won the annual Ted Schmitt Award for best play to premiere in the area, marking the third year in a row the special prize went to SCR. Three Days of Rain also received five regular nominations, as did the Pacific Resident Theatre's The Quick-Change Room and Interact Theatre's revival of Juno and the Paycock .

According to LADCC rules, half of the nominees will win; there may be more than one winner--or none--in any category.

Among producers, Center Theatre Group copped 10 nominations, edging out the nine received by Livent for Ragtime . Three of CTG's nominations were for an imported ballet, Adventures in Motion Pictures' Swan Lake at the Ahmanson; five other presenters who helped bring the British dance company to L.A. also were cited for outstanding production.

This is the first ballet ever considered for an LADCC award, but a company spokesperson said the group felt Swan Lake had "a theatrical quality" and noted that it was presented in a venue normally used for theatre instead of dance.

PRODUCTION ARCADIA - produced by Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK - produced by Joel Anderson, Carol Mayo Jenkins and Leon Russom for Interact Theatre Company RAGTIME - produced by Livent (U.S.) Inc. at the Shubert Theatre SWAN LAKE - Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in cooperation with Doolittle's Southern California Theatre Assosiation, Jujamcyn Theatres, Tennenbaum & Co., LLC and UCLA Center for the Performing Arts THREE DAYS OF RAIN - produced by South Coast Repertory A WINTERS TALE - produced by A Noise Within

A number of other honors will be distributed March 16 at the ceremony, including a special honor for John Raitt "for his many contributions to the American Musical Theatre."

Receiving the Margaret Harford Award for sustained achievement will be director Ron Link

The Ted Schmitt award for outstanding new play that premiered in L.A., goes to Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain (South Coast Repertory), a play that also received strong reviews at its run Off-Bway at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Tom Ruzika will get a lifetime achievement "Angstrom Award" for lighting.

For Lifetime Achievement in Set Design, the Bob Z Award goes to Cliff Faulkner.

Jodi Carlisle will receive the Natalie Schafer Award for "an emerging comic actress of exceptional promise." The award is named, of course, for the actress who played Lovey Howell on TV's "Gilligan's Island."

Also, a special award will go to Carmen Zapata, Margarita Galban & Estela Scarleta founders of the 25-year-old Bilingual Foundation of the Arts.

For tickets ($25 general public) and information on the Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards at the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel, March 16, call (888) 566-8499.